Extended security area at Patna airport to be opened on January 15

Patna: The security hold area (SHA) inside the terminal building of Jayaprakash Narayan International (JPNI) Airport will now be able to accommodate approximately 100 flyers more than its present capacity of 300.
An extension of the SHA will be opened on the first floor on January 15. Porta cabins with transparent windows have been installed in the area facing the apron on one side for the purpose.

JPNI Airport director Rajinder Singh Lahauria claimed that the extended SHA was initially slated to be inaugurated by January 10. “As it is considered inauspicious to start anything new in the Hindu month of ‘Kharmas’, we rescheduled it to January 15. The extended SHA will help decongest the terminal building and provide more space to flyers,” Lahauria told TOI on Thursday evening.

Apparently, a number of flyers are seen standing or sitting on the stairs connecting the ground floor to the first floor of the SHA due to shortage of seating capacity. The congestion mostly occurs during the winter season owing to disruption of flight services due to poor visibility in morning and evening hours.

The extended SHA will also facilitate opening of another boarding gate on the first floor of the terminal building. There are four boarding gates on the ground floor of the terminal building, at present.
12/01/19 Piyush Tripathi/Times of India